


To Hurt Us

by Gumnut



Series: Warm Rain [14]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, F/M, Grief, Romance, Shower Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 09:10:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19742572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumnut/pseuds/Gumnut
Summary: He heard the sound of rocket engines over the sonata he was playing and his heart lifted.





	To Hurt Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vegetacide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vegetacide/gifts).



> Title: To Hurt Us  
> Warm Rain series  
> Author: Gumnut  
> 10 Jul 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Explicit  
> Summary: He heard the sound of rocket engines over the sonata he was playing and his heart lifted.  
> Word count: 5313  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, explicit sexual content  
> Timeline: Early in their relationship, After ‘Her Idiot’, before ‘The Proposal’.  
> Author’s note: For Vegetacide. This is colloquially known as ‘Veggie’s shower fic’. You have no idea how hard it was to give it another title :D  
> Warm Rain branches off from canon at the end of Season Two. Any later revelations in the series, with the exception of Kip Harris, are outside this universe. This fic relates to two ficlets which I will link at the end of the fic as they should be read after (and they are incomplete with this fic now influencing what I will need to do with them).  
> Thank you for your continued support. Comments and kudos are wonderful things, but not as wonderful as getting to know all of you. ::hugs::  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

He heard the sound of rocket engines over the sonata he was playing and his heart lifted.

In his mind’s eye, he saw Shadow dock with the mountain, spin on her turntable and disappear into her hanger. He counted down her docking sequence. He knew it off by heart.

As his fingers danced over the keys, the tune evolved into one he had written for Kay...unbeknownst to her. His mind danced amongst the notes as he visualised her entering the elevator and counted down the journey to the comms room where he knew she had to report to Scott sitting at the desk beside him.

He took the moment, the small joy of his anticipation in seeing her for the first time in over a week.

So when she didn’t appear, there was a spark of disappointment.

He waited a few more minutes.

She still didn’t appear.

He stopped playing.

“Hey, Scott. Know where Kay is?”

His brother was buried in paperwork and obviously wasn’t paying much attention. “She said something about personal business. Debrief in a couple of hours.” Holograms danced in front of his eyes, their pale light silhouetting his brother.

“Okay.”

A pause. “Why don’t you go knock on her door, Virgil?”

So perhaps he was paying more attention than he gave him credit for.

Virgil shrugged. “If she needs personal time, she needs personal time.”

His brother sighed before killing the holographic display and turning around in his seat. “Virg, it has been over a week, go and see her. I’m sure ‘personal time’ includes you.”

He stared at the keys, forcing his fingers to return to playing the tune. Their relationship was still new. He wasn’t sure how he stood on Kay’s privacy. He wanted to respect her boundaries, not crowd her.

“Virgil.”

His hand came to rest on the edge of the piano keyboard. “Maybe.”

“Go and see her. You’re itching to. You’ve been sitting on edge your seat for the last hour. Ants in your pants or something. Just go, Virgil.”

He glared at his brother. “Well, when you put it that way...”

“Only saying it as I see it.” Scott turned back to the desk and activated the display again. “Now if only I can see how to get this budget to reconcile.”

Virgil pushed the piano stool back and stood up. “Problems?”

“Not really.” But Scott was frowning. “One of TI’s subsidiaries in Indonesia is showing a loss, yet recording a profit.”

“Bookkeeping error?”

“If so, it is one hell of an error. I’m beginning to wonder if it is a computer glitch.”

“Throw it at John.” Virgil looked over Scott’s shoulder. “He eats numbers like that for breakfast.”

Scott snorted. “You’re not wrong.” His brother looked up him. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Okay, okay, I’m going. Rein in the big brother, I’m doing as I’m told.”

“Pfft. That’ll be the day.”

“You scorn, yet you always thank me for it.”

“Go see your girlfriend, Virgil.”

He held up his hands defensively. “Yes, Commander. Your wish is my command.” A mocking bow, a happy snort and he made his exit, leaving Scott frowning at his holographic calculations.

His boots hit the stairs and he took them two at a time up to the residential levels. He trotted down the corridors to Kay’s rooms and knocked on the door.

He had always cared for Kay, but since they had taken the next step, she had become so much more. She was like a ray of sunshine on a life that he hadn’t even known was clouded. She was there beside him even when he was on the other side of the planet.

They had clicked together like an inevitable puzzle.

But it was still new and he so didn’t want to screw this up.

When she didn’t immediately answer her door, he frowned.

He knocked again.

“Kay?”

No answer.

His frown deepened. He raised his hand to knock again.

The door was yanked open.

-o-o-o-

She didn’t want to see him.

Or more correctly she didn’t want him to see her.

But she knew Virgil Tracy, if he sensed she was upset, he’d hunt her down and drag it all out of her. He’d worry about her. He’d hold her, run his hands through her hair, tell her it would be alright...

Breach her shields with a single glance from those gorgeous brown eyes.

She wasn’t ready. She needed to process. She needed to be alone. She needed her anger to get through this.

The knock on her door was inevitable.

She shouldn’t have come home.

She just...

“Kay?”

His beautiful voice...

She sighed. Still in her dirty uniform, she shoved open the door. “What do you want, Virgil?”

Those beautiful eyes widened in hurt surprise, before narrowing in on her appearance. “What happened?”

“A mission.” Tight lipped she turned away.

“Okay.” It was soft and confused.

She sighed. It was like kicking a puppy. Turning back to him, she reached out and curled her fingers around his arm, drawing him towards her. She kissed him gently, his lips soft against hers. Despite herself she wanted him to do exactly what she knew he would. Simply hold her, keep her safe. It was ever so tempting to just fall into his arms.

But no. She stiffened as his fingers brushed against her cheek and drew back.

His confused frown still hurt.

“I’m okay. I just need some time to myself.”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason?” Her eyes sharpened into a glare.

“No.”

“Then just...” She closed her eyes a moment. “Virgil, trust me, please.”

He took a step back. “Okay.” The confusion and hurt were still in his eyes, but he was regaining his composure by the moment. She could almost feel his barriers erecting between them.

This was not what she wanted.

Voice quiet. “Please trust me.”

Equally as quiet. “I do.”

“I just need some time to myself.”

“Okay.” He took a step back. “I’m sorry.”

Another sigh. “Not your fault.”

His smile was half hearted and he dipped his head before turning away towards the door. “I’m here when you need me.”

“I know.” The lump in her throat attempted to strangle her.

His eyes caught hers one more time and then he was out in the corridor, the door closing quietly behind him.

She almost broke right there. She needed him. God, she needed him. But she couldn’t. Not now.

Not now.

-o-o-o-

Virgil stumbled into the corridor, letting the door close quietly behind him.

What the hell?

Two strides and he hit his comms. “John, what the hell happened to Kay?”

“And good morning to you too, Virgil.”

Lips thinned. “John.”

“Nothing that I know of, why?”

“She’s...are you sure?”

“She hasn’t said anything to me. There is no sign of injury.”

“Where did she go? She was in Indonesia?”

“Malaysia, actually, following up a lead sent to her by Colonel Casey.”

“What lead? I thought she was on reconnaissance.”

“She was. Tracking the remains of the Hood’s business dealings. Malaysia was his home base.”

“That I didn’t know.”

“She didn’t tell you?”

Virgil grit his teeth. “She doesn’t tell me everything, nor do I expect her to.” His feet hit the stairs back down the comms room.

“What’s wrong, Virgil?”

“She’s upset.” And he didn’t know why.

“Give her time? Even I know not to tackle an upset Kayo until she has had some time to calm down. She might accidentally neuter you.”

It was a comment that had been made in the past as a brotherly warning.

He wasn’t her brother anymore. “Not what I care about, John.”

His comm sighed. “Just give her time, Virgil. Let her come to you.”

He bit his lip. Would she come to him?

He wasn’t confident.

“Thanks, John.”

“If I find anything, I’ll let you know.” The connection cut.

Great, now he was spying on his girlfriend.

-o-o-o-

It took two days for Kay to appear for a meal. Virgil had even gone to the effort of creating a decent lunch for all of them. A bunch of salads and home cooked BBQ chicken adorned the kitchen bench along with a bucket of fries. The cooking smells dragged three of his brothers and his grandmother into the room, Gordon yelling up at John to get his ass down for a feast.

Kay had drifted in last after Scott had poked Brains out of his lab and called her directly. It became an impromptu family lunch full of happy conversation and laughter.

Except for the cook and his girlfriend.

Kay said nothing. Virgil echoed her.

Scott frowned at him in question and Virgil had no answer, only a deepening worry. Kay was looking gaunt and the green of her eyes were dulled. He had no doubt she had eaten little since yesterday and she was hardly eating now.

Gordon, ever the radar of emotional health picked up on it quickly and with his usual subtlety of a brick, dove straight in.

“So, Tin, Virg been an idiot again?” He shoved a handful of fries in his mouth and grinned at her while half of them were still sticking out of his teeth.

Kayo shot him a scathing look. “Not now, Gordon.”

“Wow, what did you do, Virg?”

Scott reached over and clapped him up the head. “Mind your own business, Fish.”

Typically, he ignored the eldest. “Hey, both of them are my business. Tin looks awful and Virgil looks like someone stole his favourite toy.”

“Gordon!” It was abrupt and loud from Scott and a snarl from Virgil.

“Hey, obviously no one is talking. Piano boy is wound up like one of his strings and Tin...c’mon, Sis, what’s wrong?”

The green of her eyes lit on fire and shot Gordon through his forehead. “Not now.”

“Gordon, leave her alone.” Virgil rasped out the words.

A sound that could only be described as a whimper of distress issued from Kay’s direction and suddenly she was standing, turning and striding towards the stairs.

Virgil shoved away his chair and hurried after her. “Kay!” He caught up to her at the top of the stairs before she could reach the elevator. “C’mon, love, talk to me.” He reached out a hesitant hand reaching to touch her, the worry in his gut swirling around enough to nauseate.

She spun on him. “Leave me alone, Virgil.”

“No!” This was it, he couldn’t watch her do this to herself. “I’m worried about you. Something happened. I don’t know what. You don’t have to tell me, just let me...Kay, please.” He was pleading, hands hovering, desperate to take her into his arms.

“This isn’t about you! This is about me and I need time. Just...leave me alone.” She spun on her heel and, ignoring the elevator, tore up the stairs.

Virgil moved to follow, but a hand landed on his shoulder and held him back.

“Let her go.” Scott’s voice was quiet.

“I...” And he didn’t know what to say. Everything in his body was screaming to run after her, to help her, to be there for her, and...she wouldn’t let him.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently.

“Look at what you did!” Alan’s strident voice echoed up the stairs. “You scared her off.”

“Someone had to break the ice, it was damned freezing in here.”

“And how is this better, Gordon?” It was Grandma’s voice that broke Virgil.

He brushed his fingers over those on his shoulder and slipped out from under them. He didn’t look back as he stepped onto the stairs following the woman he loved.

-o-o-o-

Kayo held it together long enough to storm through the door to her rooms. She slammed it behind her, but was denied the solid thunk of sound, as it bounced off its frame and stubbornly refused to close. Spinning she kicked it, leaving a dent in the woodwork.

Still it sat ajar.

It was appropriate really, considering the mess she was making of things.

She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to hide in his arms. She wanted to be held. God, she wanted _him_. She ached for him.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t let herself go. She wouldn’t survive.

So, she pushed him away. She had to work this out on her own like she always had.

Walking past a mirror, she caught her reflection. Gordon was right, she did look awful. Her usually tight ponytail was frazzled, stray hair escaping. Her face was pale and her eyes hollow.

A shower. Hot water. It would invigorate her and then she would straighten herself out. Straighten her spine and face the world, face him, without the drama.

Or the vulnerability.

Her resolve lasted until the first of the water hit her skin.

-o-o-o-

Virgil climbed the stairs quietly, his mind anything but. He was caught between following his instincts and doing what was right.

Everything who he was screamed for him to follow her, confront her, comfort her, love her.

She had asked him not to.

Virgil wasn’t one to stick to orders he didn’t agree with.

He knew Kay. He knew she kept everything close. She didn’t share. But he had seen what that had done to her in the past.

As a teenager she had been harassed by three older boys in high school. No-one in the family had known there was a problem until the principal contacted their father to report assault injuries on two of the boys. The third had run off.

When the family discovered exactly what those boys had been doing to lead up to the incident...well, the one who ran away had his financial situation destroyed by John. Their father had massacred the charges laid against her with the truth, but she had been forced to move schools. Virgil had to field a furious Scott who wanted to dismember the assholes. He still suspected Gordon of the tyre slashing.

Through the entire incident, Kayo hadn’t flinched once.

Virgil had kept an eye on her at a distance, worried about her.

She hadn’t once cried or asked for help.

Until he found her out in the barn destroying its superstructure with her feet. He became a target the moment he stepped inside the door. She scared the living shit out of him. If Grandma hadn’t heard her yelling, Virgil may have just let his sister take him apart.

His grandmother had broken Kay’s attack with one word and gathered the distressed girl into her arms. Virgil had been non-verbally kicked out.

Kay kept things to herself until she couldn’t anymore. Then the gym took damage. He’d fixed enough gym equipment to know that well.

This time, as far as he could tell, she hadn’t been anywhere near the gym. She’d kept to her rooms.

And it worried him even more.

Coming to a decision, somewhere between the top of the stairs and his own door, he diverted and headed in her direction.

Finding her door ajar caused a frown. He stuck his head into the room. “Kay?”

His shirt caught on the splintered doorjamb and he realised the door was hanging skewed off its hinges. “Kay?”

Slipping in, he closed it gently behind him, wriggling the handle until it held it shut. He stepped lightly through her living room and it wasn’t until he reached her kitchenette that he heard the shower running.

At that moment, he might have retreated and attempted this later...if it wasn’t for a crash and the sound of breaking glass.

He was into the hallway and through the bathroom door without thought.

The room was full of steam billowing from the shower cubicle. The shower cubicle sported a sunray of cracks across one side. “Kay!”

Over the spray of water was the sound of a woman crying.

His heart stuttered as he flung open the shower screen.

She was huddled naked on the floor under the jet of steaming water, her arms wrapped around her knees.

Sobbing.

His clothes soaked through as he folded himself down in front of her. The water plastered his hair to his head. He reached out and touched her cheek. “Kay?”

Her head shot up and for just a split second her eyes were full of fear. He steeled himself, fully expecting a bruising attack, but with a sob, she reached up and drew him to her, her arms around his neck, clinging ever so tight.

She shook against him, her tears mingling with the water spray.

His own eyes pricking, he pulled her close and straightened, drawing her into his embrace. He rested her head against his chest and kissed her hair, his heart beating hard against his ribcage.

He found himself rocking her gently, hands turning reassuring circles on her skin, muttering soft words into her hair. His beautiful, beautiful Kay.

-o-o-o-

One moment she was resolute and strong, the next she was in pieces.

What tipped her over, she didn’t know, but what little calm she had managed snapped and there was just fear, fury and grief.

She struck out, but only the shower cubicle responded in an echo of her own loneliness. It was as if it had reflected her blow back at her and it took her down. The grief overcame the fury and her heart tore in two. Why? Why had this happened to her? Hadn’t she lost enough already? Hadn’t they all?

She curled up on the cubicle floor and let it all come.

A touch to her face.

Virgil. Her gentle brother, her gorgeous lover, her saviour. She grabbed him, wrenching him to her and she was in his arms. His wonderful strong, protective arms, his beautiful voice rumbling in her ear.

She shook, but he held her. She cried and his hand was in her hair, stroking her grief away with the water from the shower spray. He rocked her gently and slowly, ever so slowly, the grief drained away leaving her depleted.

“Kay?” His hand brushed her cheek again. “Love, talk to me.”

She didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to exist in his arms, hold the moment and forget reality. Feel his sodden shirt against her cheek, his warmth keeping her alive.

So, she looked up at him, her neck creaking at the movement. She caught his eyes before stretching up and catching his lips with hers.

It was desperate, wet and so needed. She lost herself in him. He responded slowly at first, his worry for her dominant, but as her tongue slipped in between his teeth and her hands found his hair, she felt his body shift. His shoulders dropped just a little, his feet edging to support her weight as well as his own as she leant further into him.

His tongue found hers and he melted under her touch.

The shower was hot, the steam still billowing. His clothes were soaked and his boots full of water. She didn’t speak as she broke off the kiss and began peeling sodden flannel from his shoulders.

His hand caught her wrist. “Kay?”

She stilled.

Barely heard above the spray. “I don’t want to talk. I just want you.”

His eyes widened just a little, but she knew she had him. He would do anything for her. It scared her how much he was willing to give her. But right now, all she needed was him.

His touch.

His love.

He drew a finger across her cheek and along her jaw and leant down to kiss her again. She used the movement to pull his shirt from his shoulders and down his arms, letting the red material fall with a splat at their feet. Breaking off his kiss, she grabbed the hem of his grey undershirt and pulled it up over his head.

It joined the red flannel in the water on the floor.

His skin was wet, warm and slick against her own. Tight and tanned, she loved his body. Firm muscle with a dusting of dark hair. She ran her hands across that hair, her fingers slipping between the strands. They roamed up his chest, sliding again around his neck and into the hair on his head, her mouth taking his. The action drew her belly up flat against his, her breasts crushed between the two of them. As he explored her mouth, she was the first to moan, wilting just a little into his arms.

His big hands supported her. One held her waist, the other roamed her back, pulling her closer, before moving to her neck, as his kiss grew more urgent.

Lips slipped from hers and he was trailing his kiss across her cheek and down her neck. Her hands fell to his biceps as he nibbled on her collar bone, almost lifting her from her feet in his eagerness.

“Touch me.”

And he did. A calloused hand caught her right breast and she gasped.

A blur of motion and he lifted her onto his hips, her weight nothing against his strength. Her back found the wet surface of the glass shower screen and that hand returned to her breast, a thumb brushing across her nipple.

Her back straightened at his touch and his mouth was on hers, stealing her moan.

Her hands found his back and they trailed over scars. Her heart skipped a beat as it always did when she brushed against the bullet scar in his shoulder or the one at his waist. They signified exactly how much he was willing to give her.

Everything.

His hand clutched at her buttocks and it was his turn to moan.

His jeans were tight under her thighs and she wanted them gone. Placing a hand on his chest, she nudged him gently backwards into the spray and slid from his grasp.

He wilted at her loss.

But she busied herself with the button on his jeans, wrestling it free and pulling the zipper down to free him. She didn’t miss his sigh as she worked the denim and cotton from his hips, yanking off his boots and removing the last of his clothing.

She found herself kneeling in front of him, his gorgeous brown eyes hazy with want, staring down at her.

She trailed a finger down his belly and across much softer skin, tight under strain.

He shivered, tightening further.

She followed her finger with her tongue before taking him into her mouth.

His whole body shuddered, a hand finding her hair and knotting in it. “Kay.” Her name was little more than a gasp.

She wrapped her tongue around him, wanting to taste him, her hands moving to his hips and gripping hard as his muscles wound up at her touch. She slid him in and out of her mouth, urgent and a little rough. He moaned her name again.

He tasted salty and hers.

But she wanted more. She wanted him inside her. Deep inside her.

He whimpered as she let him go. As she straightened, he grabbed her, crushing his lips to hers, lifting her onto his hips again and pushing her up against the shower wall. His breath was hot and gasping against her skin. “God, Kay.”

Her hands floundered against his shoulders. “Show me how much you love me.”

His erection brushed against her and her whole body vibrated. But he lifted her higher, his lips finding a breast, his tongue teasing her to the edge. A thumb, a wet tongue, his breath on her skin, his hand reached between her thighs and found her most sensitive nerves.

Her back arched, her head pushing against the glass behind her. He tantalised her, his calluses stimulating so much. She breathed out his name as his fingers explored, slipping inside her as his teeth nibbled on a nipple.

Oh god.

Her hand found his hair and gripped him tight as his lips moved to her other breast and his fingers moved inside her.

“God, Virgil.”

He growled against her breast. His hands fell away, moving to her hips and lifting her again. Her back firm against the glass, he slid into her hard.

She gasped as he took her, filling her. She spread her legs further around his hips, widening herself, letting him in deeper. He groaned, his breath harsh and, pulling back, thrust into her again. Her nerves sung as taut skin was dragged across them.

“More.” It was breath only.

His eyes burned into her and his hips moved, his hands pulling her down hard onto him as he thrust up into her.

The glass was slick against her back, her skin sliding up and down against it as he gained rhythm. Her whole body sung.

“More.”

He gasped, eyes a little crazed. “Kay.”

“Love me more.”

His speed increased and she cried out as he pounded into her. God, she needed him.

“Come for me, Virgil.” She wanted to see his face, see him as he lost himself to her. “Come for me.”

He shivered under her hands, his rhythm staggering before it picked up even harder. He was hot inside her and her body rippled and gripped him. Suddenly his lips were hers, brushing roughly against her. “You first.”

His tongue was in her mouth, his hands bruising her hips, his cock buried deep inside her, thrusting hard and fast.

Hot water splashed on her skin.

He broke off the kiss. His beautiful eyes caught hers and...she was lost to him.

Her body flared, and she cried out as the wave hit her, its intensity shocking. “Vir-gil.” God, oh god.

And he kept going. Shockwave after shockwave hit as he shook it from her, drawing out her pleasure as his own climaxed. “K-kay.” It come out in a rush as he shuddered and released deep inside her, his hips pushing into her hard once, twice and one last time.

“God.” His voice shook, his breathing as harsh as hers. He pulled her close as her body continued to shake with aftershocks, his massive arms wrapping around her tight. “God, Kay, I love you.”

Legs still wrapped around him, she clung to his body. Tears blurred her vision, but her lips still found his. The kiss was soft and long, his mouth as warm as ever. “Love you, too.” Breathed over his lips.

He kissed her again.

As his body slipped from hers, she let her feet drop to the tiled floor, regaining her footing, her legs shaky. She gently shifted both of them under the shower spray, the hot water washing away their exertions.

She clung to him.

They stayed that way for some time. How long, she didn’t know, but Virgil moved first, reaching for the shower gel and pouring some into his hand. A little lathering and he was rubbing his hands across her back, her shoulders, her arms. He kissed her gently as his hands drifted across her breasts, soaping up her skin. She shivered and her excitement returned.

He smiled against her lips.

Oh really.

She reached for the shower gel and lathered up her own hands. As he ran his hands over her buttocks, she took soap to his chest, running her fingers through his soft hair again.

Another kiss and she wrapped her hands around his back, soaping up scars and sliding down to his hips and his buttocks.

Soap was a wonderful thing.

And Virgil was very thorough.

By the time she was completely clean, she wanted to get dirty again.

Teasingly frustrated, she returned the favour.

His towel dried a body very interested in hers.

Barely dry, he swept her off her feet and carried her into her bedroom and laid her on the bed. The cotton sheets were lovely and cool against her hot skin.

A kiss, a hand caressing her breast before he replaced his fingers with his lips, suckling her nipple. She drew in a harsh breath and parted her legs.

He knelt between them and loomed over her. His erection brushed against excited skin and she tilted her hips up eagerly, wrapping her legs around him.

He kissed her as he entered her.

It was soft and gentle this time, his movements slow and tantalising, drawing her leisurely to climax. His touch was all caresses as he played her senses. When she came, it was with his name on her lips and his love in her heart.

His gasp filled her and, as he fell limp into her embrace, they curled up together, wrapped in each other.

Soft words of love and they slept.

-o-o-o-

Virgil always woke slowly. It was both a curse and a pleasure. A curse considering his choice in vocation. A pleasure when he woke in Kay’s arms.

Kay always woke before he did. She slept like she did everything else. Efficiently.

So often he would wake blearily to her smiling face, her caress, her hand in his hair.

Her.

This time was no exception. She was curled up in his arms, but looking up at him, so when he woke, she was the first thing he saw.

“You’re beautiful.” He smiled at her.

“And you’re beautifully dopey.”

His smile became a grin. “I get the impression you don’t mind a little dopey.”

She returned the smile just a little. “Virgil Tracy brand only.”

But he had caught her hesitation. “Love?”

She curled up closer to him, snuggling into his chest. “Can we stay here forever?”

His fear from earlier returned. He reached over and cupped her cheek, gently nudging her to look up at him. “What is it, Kay? Please tell me.”

She rolled out of his embrace and reached for a small box on the bedside table. It was a dull brown, unremarkable in any way except for one. On the top, the name ‘Tanusha’ had been engraved into the box lid.

Virgil bit back the obvious question and let her open it.

A ring sat inside.

Gold interwove with silver in an intricate design.

He couldn’t help himself. “Who?”

“My mother’s.” Her voice was rough. My father wore it on a chain around his neck. it was one of his most cherished possessions.” She drew in a breath. “One he would never part with.”

It was Virgil’s turn to draw in a breath. “Kyrano?”

He saw her eyes mist over and reached for her. She came willingly and he held her tight against him. “My uncle left it as a gloat. He made sure I would get it after his...demise.” She swallowed. “And I did.”

“Kay-“

“It explains alot. Why my father has not answered no matter how many messages we send.” Her voice broke. “He...he was all I had left.”

He brushed his palm across her cheek. “It’s not proof, Kay.”

“He would never part with that ring. It was all he had of her.”

“It’s still not proof. We don’t know what happened. The Hood wants to hurt you, hurt us. The circumstances in which he gained access to this ring could be something else entirely. He could just be trying to manipulate us still.”

“From beyond the grave?”

“Why not? The man has always had far reaching effects.” Virgil bit down on his own anger at the bastard. Would he ever stop hurting his family? “We can ask Penny to help and we’ll give it another go at trying to find your father. Now his brother is dead, he might be able to return to us.”

“If that is the case, why hasn’t he?”

Virgil’s lips thinned. “Love, please, we don’t know enough. We will find out the truth.” Anger flared behind her eyes. He drew her close and kissed her hair. “Trust me?”

The nod against his chest was tiny, but he took what he could get.

And if Kyrano was out there and he didn’t answer their call...

Virgil had anger all of his own.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

**Author's Note:**

> Two bits of fic that can be read relating to this that are not currently published elsewhere can be found here - [Part One](https://gumnut-logic.tumblr.com/post/181345269246/thunderbird-two-spun-in-her-hanger-completing-her) & [Part Two](https://gumnut-logic.tumblr.com/post/181346000066/read-this-first-it-appeared-that-life-had-not-been) \- these are part of an unfinished fic that will be written in the future.
> 
> Thank you for reading :D


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